The effects of global warming are not something that will happen in the future, but are part of the present

The wildfire in Banning is part of the climate change that California has been experiencing. Since 2000, the average number of acres burned every year in the state has basically doubled. Meaning, the effects of global warming are not something that will happen in the future, but are part of the present and already being felt.

Those are some of the conclusions of a report released yesterday by the California Environmental Protection Agency, which was written by 51 scientists and sponsored by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

In recent years, California has put itself at the forefront to reduce--with moderate success--greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these improvements, if our state were a country, it would be 13th among the most polluting nations.

The report mentions the phenomenon of wildfires just as one of many examples that show that California's ocean, flora and fauna have undergone significant changes.

Other signs that are visible today are more acidic waters on the coast, higher sea levels in San Francisco and shrinking glaciers in the Sierra Nevada.

Therefore, there should be political will to continue toward the path of producing solar energy, using electric cars and developing more sources of renewable energy.

That is why we are concerned about Governor Brown wanting to use almost $500 million from the state's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for other budget expenses, instead of spending them on renewable energy projects, as voters were promised at one time.

The impact that the greenhouse effect is having is a problem that must be prioritized at the state level now, instead of tackling it at a later time.